Post-Transplant Update: 24 January 2018

That cardiology visit I had right after my last post went extremely well! The doctor is very pleased with my vitals, as well as how I am doing overall. He has no further tests at this time, and I will continue to use the heart meds on the same dosages for at least the next few months. My next cardiology appointment isn't until June!

My healing continues to be slow. Though I am off most of the pain meds, it is not because the pain has dissipated, but because I decided to wean myself off of them. Now, I only take those meds if I am hurting a whole lot.  I often push myself too much and end up with a lot of pain, but I am trying to minimize that day by day. Along the pain med lines, I have had zero withdrawal effects because I did a slow draw-down on the meds which allowed my body to adjust to diminishing meds without the awful effects of going cold turkey; which I had to do following my back surgery in 2000. That was a terrible 24 hours of ridding the narcotics from my body. I'm talking the full blown symptoms of cold turkey withdrawal...chills, fever, excessive diaphoresis, vomiting, diarrhea, complete exhaustion. And I was only on heavy meds for a month back then! I certainly don't want to repeat that episode...  :o(

I think I stated in my last blog that I was going a bit of time without by abdominal binder both during the day and at night. Unfortunately, I had to once again wear the binder 24/7 after sneezing several times one day, causing me to tweak something that caused extra pain. In addition, my sides still hurt (the intercostal gap muscles), as does my lower abdomen. Plus, a small area just R of the incision and near the now indistinguishable belly button, has a lot of pain. It doesn't help that I have been sneezing frequently this month. 

*On an aside, I don't know if I ever mentioned that when I sneeze, I usually do it just one, powerful time, then I'm done. This causes my entire abdomen to tense, tighten and seize up, which is what causes so much pain. OWW!!

So anyhow, I am wearing the binder both when awake, and while sleeping. This helps my muscles to be a bit more relaxed. Then there's the fact that I continue to sleep in a supine position, and most on my sides. Doing this still causes me pain, but not so much that I can't sleep.

The neuropathy in my feet is getting better....very, Very, VERY slowly. With winter here, the cold weather helps to keep the burning down, but I still have to soak them in an ice bath. Those ice baths are no longer nasty cold, though. Ever since the transplant, and my feet losing so much water volume, I can no longer bring my feet to the point of cold injury. I must now use only a handful of ice; otherwise my feet become painful from the cold within a minute or two.

On my last visit to the weekly Kidney Clinic, I was instructed that I am doing well enough to cut my lab draws to once per week. IF my labs are good for two consecutive weeks without any med changes/adjustments, then I could reduce those lab draws to once every two weeks. Well, today was my second lab draw, and my numbers are looking terrific! 

The Tac reading is at 6.5 (excellent!), my creatinine is fantastic and the rest of my numbers are nearly back in line.
My latest labs values:

*Tac-- 6.5 (Normal Range)
*Creat-- 1.61 (-.02)
*CA-- 10 (NR)
*RBC's-- 4.05 (-.03)
*WBC's-- 7.3 (NR)
*HCT--35.7 (No Change)
*Lymph-- 11.7 (-0.8)
*Lymph ABS-- 0.9 (-0.1)
*Neut-- 71.8 (-1.5)
*Neut ABS-- 5.2 (NR)
*GFR-- 47 (No Change)
*BUN-- 26 (+2)
*Gluc-- 100 (NR)
*Phos-- 3.2 (NR)
*Hemo-- 11.4 (No Change)
*K+-- 4.2 (NR)

Speaking of Kidney Clinic, I am finally doing well enough that I am now going just once per month! A couple more months of doing well and I might be allowed to go for two months between visits.

I think I'll stop there for today.

Great overall progress; the kidney continues to work well and my med schedule is finally stable! I'll take all of that!

So then,...until next week...

Good Health to All!

ScottW

P.s  This weeks' lab draw was my second of once-per-week-draws. With my numbers being great I was given authorization [this morning, 26 Jan] that allows me to now do labs just once every two weeks! YAY!!!

*However, we are trying to get a replacement med for the Cellcept called Myfortic. If we can get the OK from insurance, I will have to go back to once every week draws to properly monitor the effects the new med will have on me. This reversal in the lab draw schedule would only be temporary.
On the positive side, Myfortic should be a med that my body can better tolerate. This means that with I can take a higher dose of this med, and reduce the Prograf so that I have less of a chance of getting skin cancer (a side effect of anti-rejection meds), and the hand tremors caused by the Prograf will be further diminished. Both changes would be very welcome!